


Birth flower

by solenar



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Botany, Fluff, M/M, Magical Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27774991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solenar/pseuds/solenar
Summary: “I like your tattoos, I… think they are beautiful.”Yuta turns to look at him surprised, a large smile making its way across his face as he tucks a strand of hair behind his ear.“Thank you. I like the pink hair, it looks really good on you.”-Or: Yuta has a growing collecting of tattoos and Jaehyun is a little bit in love.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71
Collections: Sakura Mochi - a yujae centered ficfest





	Birth flower

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #74
> 
> It's my first time participating in a fic fest so I'm a bit nervous, but I hope you like this even if it's short and there's not as much flower boy Jaehyun as I would like. I love writing fantasy so I'm glad I could get this lovely prompt and I hope I did justice to it.

It’s almost 7 in the morning when Jaehyun reaches the nursery, despite the early hour he knows even a few minutes late can earn him trouble with the owner. The nursery has regular customers that arrive every Saturday morning expecting to start an early day shopping for plants or flowers in order to take the rest of the day to take care of their gardens.

Jaehyun makes it just two minutes before opening time and he already sees Mrs. Choi waiting inside her car to avoid the chilly air of autumn, she could probably use a spell for that but Jaehyun is not about to question an elderly woman on her decisions. He struggles to open the door for a moment before finally entering and start setting up for the day, the older woman enters right behind him and is already moving towards the small shipment of yews they got yesterday. After setting his backpack behind the counter he turns around to greet her properly, but she only nods slightly in his direction before turning back to the plants.

She ends up buying a small yew and a big bag of fertilizer, a few more regulars arrive within the next two hours but after that, the traffic of people slows down and Jaehyun takes the moment to reach into his backpack for his homework. Midterms were last week but Graduate school proved to be much harder than he thought, he is at least glad he gets to work in a place surrounded by the things he loves and he studies.

By noon, the place is empty so he decides to take out his lunch before he gets any more customers. Just as he’s about to eat the last piece of his kimbap two men enter the nursery, he puts away the last of his food greeting them politely as they greet him back without turning to look at him. 

They are both handsome in a similar way, but their styles completely clash. One of them, the blond one, is wearing a big hoodie and loose pants with multicolored sneakers and a bunch of accessories on his wrists and neck. The other one is wearing black jeans with a loose and almost transparent t-shirt that does little to hide the tattoo on his back, his ears are lined with piercings and he has deep black hair that almost looks unnatural, a few strands of neon green pick color his bangs. Jaehyun stares for a moment at their backs, curious about the design of the tattoo and how the stranger can stand the cold wearing such thin material.

“Do you think a succulent is better than a cactus? I think people don’t give cactuses enough credit, they are just as cute.”

“Then get a cactus, you’ve been talking about it since we moved in. You only thought of a succulent because Doyoung said he liked them.”

“That’s not true!”

The guy with the tattoo raises an eyebrow at his companion, a clear sign that he doesn’t believe him. Hoodie guy sticks his tongue out at him and turns back to study the cactuses while the other guy shrugs and walks away moving towards the flower section of the store. Jaehyun decides it’s time to help them out since they seem to know next to nothing about plants, judging by their common and beginners' plant of choice.

“If you want a cute cactus you might want a Parodia, they bloom beautiful yellow flowers. Mostly in spring, though.”

The man turns around to face him with the widest eyes he’s ever seen and a surprised look.

“I didn’t know cactuses had flowers, that’s so cute!”

Jaehyun smiles at his enthusiasm and starts explaining about the misconceptions of cactus and how in reality most of them have flowers that tend to be short-lived or just not very prominent. He shows the customer the small variety of cactus they have available and goes into a detailed explanation of each of their blooms, by the time he’s done the guy looks even more excited about the idea of having a cactus and Jaehyun knows he has succeeded.

“Taeyong, have you decided what you’ll buy?” The tattooed guy finally returns to the front of the store and he’s holding a small pot of begonias.

“Yes! I’ll buy some cactuses, a Parodia and a Kingcup cactus. Are you getting something? I know you were looking for some flowers right?”

The black haired man nods and lifts up the pot he’s holding, “Begonias.” He turns to look at Jaehyun “Do you have calendulas? I saw almost every medicinal flower except from that.”

Calendulas are popular flowers and they sell out fast, they are particularly popular with phoenix hybrids and fire witches, apparently combusting into flames and rising from your ashes is not as fun as stories make it out to be, and calendulas are great for any type of burn, just like begonias.

“I sold the last one earlier today, but we’ll get a shipment next Saturday if you want to drop by.”

“We’ll come back!” Taeyong says before the other guy can even open his mouth to answer, walking towards his friend and linking arms “I’ll bring a bigger budget and get some more plants, but for now I think we’ll be taking just these ones.”

Jaehyun looks at their linked arms and how close their faces are while talking to each other, they look like climbing plants unable to untangle from each other. He clears his throat to get their attention again, and just like that they slightly separate from each other and stop looking like one entity.

They pay for their plants and leave just as quietly as they arrived. Jaehyun watches them walk away through the transparent door and barely manages to catch the black haired guy bursting into laughter. It’s such a pretty smile, it doesn’t match the rough style of clothes he’s wearing, but who is he to judge. People often say his pastel clothes and pink rose hair don’t match his voice or his face, more often than not it’s his parents reminding him that he’s not masculine enough in his interests, his hobbies, even his studies. 

It’s not exactly true, Jaehyun has plenty of interests that people would consider masculine, but his parents are probably just bitter that he decided to study botany rather than medicine or political sciences. They can’t do anything about it and Jaehyun has learned that living his life does not mean he’s disappointing anyone. He’s 25, old enough that he’s confident in what he does and what he loves, his parents will eventually accept it too.

Jaehyun turns to look out the door once again, imagining the tattoo behind that loose white shirt. He hopes it contains flowers, something like jasmine would fit the mystery guy.

The rest of the day passes quickly and so do the following days, school is busy as usual but the meeting with his thesis advisor goes well and that puts Jaehyun in a good mood for the weekend.

On Saturday he opens the nursery again at 7:00 am sharp and takes to organizing the new shipments. He waits all morning for the men from last week to come back and thinks about what other plants he can recommend, but by 5:30 pm he finishes closing up and there’s still no sign of them, 

The next day he arrives a little late, but fortunately, there’s no customer waiting for him so he takes his time opening the store and fixing the exhibition. The mornings are getting colder, Jaehyun can’t leave his department without at least one sweater and a long-sleeved shirt, and he’s thinking if he should have worn warmer clothes when the guys from last week enter the store. 

Once again they are both wearing completely different clothing styles but what stands out the most to Jaehyun is that the guy with the tattoo is once again wearing a loose t-shirt, this time black with what looks like a band name printed across the front, he almost looks like he’s hot if the little electrical fan he’s holding on his hand is anything to go by. Maybe he’s a species that runs high on body temperature, like a werewolf.

“Hey! we’re back for more plants and maybe some tips too. I’m trying to build a little ecosystem, but I need some help. Yuta also needs his flowers too!”

“I’m happy to help.” Jaehyun says with a smile, gaze lingering on the man named Yuta. He didn’t notice the last time but there’s a small tattoo on the back of his hand, he doesn’t recognize the shape but the pink and purple colors stand out against his painted black nails.

“The calendulas are in the back, right next to the chamomile and lavender.”

Yuta thanks him with a smile and moves towards the flowers, his friend stays behind and starts asking all types of questions about plants and soil, he mentions the tutorials he’s been watching online about ecosystem gardening and how he wants to fill their new backyard with all types of plants. 

Jaehyun gives him all types of advice and helps him choose the best plants for a beginner. He smiles all along, happy to see someone as excited as he is about plants and nature. Jaehyun quickly realizes Taeyong is a chatterbox when he starts telling him all about his life, how he and Yuta are best friends that recently moved together to a small apartment close to the nursery, and they are saving up to start a business together. He talks about his job at a photography studio and Yuta’s job at a salon, he even mentions his crush on one of his workmates and Yuta’s apparent lack of interest in other people.

While Taeyong talks non-stop Yuta comes back with two pots of calendulas and looks around the shop quietly, the small electrical fan is on at the lowest setting, the humming of the motor barely audible. Jaehyun doesn’t mean to ignore Taeyong but he can’t help to steal glances at Yuta, especially when his back is turned and he can see the lines of his tattoos that reach his shoulders. Unlike the one on his hand, the tattoo on the back appears to be completely black, and when his shirt shifts enough, Jaehyun can see the shape of a flower.

“That's it! I don’t think I could take more with me right now anyway.” 

Taeyong announces loudly and brings Jaehyun’s attention back to him. He nods, stealing another glance at Yuta just to catch him looking at him with a slight smile on his face. Jaehyun smiles back, he feels himself blushing and turns away quickly making his way to the counter. He’s sure his ears are red by now, always a dead giveaway of when he’s shy or embarrassed.

As they are paying for their plants Jaehyun stares at Yuta’s hand tattoo, from up close the pink looks almost vibrant and shiny, unlike any other tattoo he’s seen. He still doesn’t recognize the pattern, but it doesn’t take away from the beauty of it. Just as they are picking up their purchases Jaehyun gathers up some courage, what he thinks of a stranger’s tattoo is not important but he wants Yuta to know how much he likes it and so he blurts it out.

“I like your tattoos, I… think they are beautiful.” 

Yuta turns to look at him surprised, a large smile making its way across his face as he tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. 

“Thank you. I like the pink hair, it looks really good on you.”

Jaehyun blushes again as he plays with the bottom of his sweater, he smiles and thanks him too. Both men are gone soon after but Jaehyun keeps thinking about Yuta’s smile for the rest of the day, wondering if he’ll see him again soon.

That evening as he’s walking home from work he stops at a little potions shop outside the train station. The witch that owns the store often buys flowers from Jaehyun and he’s always nice although a little bit eccentric. As he enters the store he sees a young boy look up from his phone and welcome him with a nod.

“Jaemin Hyung! A customer is here!”

Jaemin emerges from the back of the store, hair sticking out in all directions and face full of what looks like glitter. “Jaehyun Hyung welcome back! How can I help you this lovely evening?”

“Hey Jaemin, just wondering if you had more of that energy potion you gave me last time.”

“Of course, I actually just made it today so you’re in luck. You remember the instructions right? Just three drops in your morning tea otherwise you won’t be able to sleep.”

Jaemin hands him the small glass bottle with one hand and reaches out for the money with the other. Jaehyun hands him a few bills and takes the bottle, it will last him a couple of weeks, just in time to hand in the first draft of his thesis. The potion is just to keep him energized on the days he has to stay up late for schoolwork, he’s almost done with his thesis draft but he knows he'll be working on it and trying to improve it until the last minute so any help he can get is great to get him through.

“You know I always follow the instructions. Thank you Jaemin, have a nice night.”

“You too Hyung! Come by more often.”

The next two weeks he throws himself into his schoolwork, the energy potion is useful and he submits his first thesis draft without feeling completely drained. His shifts at the nursery on the weekend are uneventful and neither Yuta nor Taeyong drop by, he thinks they could have gone again during the week, but he feels silly asking about some customers to Jeno or Rejun who work on weekdays.

On the Sunday of the third week, after he last saw Yuta, the man returns to the nursery without his friend by his side. He’s once again wearing a loose and thin t-shirt despite the colder weather and his neon green highlights have faded out into a muted blonde. 

He looks almost the same except that the tattoo on his hand is bigger, covering all the back of his hand and most of his forearm, the pattern seems to change midway along with the colors which turn from pink and purple to blue and green. Yuta seems to notice him staring at his arm yet ignores his stare in favor of greeting him.   
“Hey, good to see you again. We came back last week but were told you only work on the weekends.”

“Yeah, I’m studying for my masters right now so I don’t have time during the week. Did you find what you were looking for then?”

“Not really, the guy told me you don’t sell comfrey, right? But he also said you study something about plants so you might be able to give me some suggestions.” 

Yuta steps closer to the counter and Jaehyun can see the colors of the tattoo more clearly, it almost looks like they are changing shades under the sunlight. He tears his gaze away and turns to look at Yuta’s face, he’s so handsome in a beautiful way and Jaehyun can’t help the blush that spreads all the way to his ears again. He doesn’t have to see them to know they are red, he can already feel they are warm.

“I studied Botany for my undergraduate degree, hopefully, I can help with whatever you need.”

“Great! So I’m looking for plants or flowers that work for burns or rashes. The begonias and calendulas have worked out just fine but is there something a little… stronger?”

“Aloe vera is the most effective but I’m guessing you’ve already used it. Other than comfrey there’s lavender and plantain, they are not as good though. You could try some fruits, papaya and pomegranate have shown good results for burns.”

Jaehyun starts explaining a research paper he read recently on the topic of medicinal herbs and some alternatives, he feels a little shy going on a rant about it but Yuta doesn’t seem to mind, if anything, his eyes never leave Jaehyun and he even asks some questions.

“If you are willing to try something else there’s a potion shop nearby, I know the witch that owns it and he’s nice, quite young too but he does good work.”

Yuta shifts on his feet and looks away, like he’s considering it but leaning towards saying no, “Witches don’t tend to like me.”

Jaehyun nods in understanding, some magical creatures have feuds that have lasted for centuries and although they all agree to live in relative peace, they also tend to avoid one another. Then again, witches don’t like most magical creatures, Jaemin is one of the few Jaehyun has met that doesn’t care for species related issues.

“Jaemin is quite open, I’ve never seen him turn anyone or anything away as long as they are respectful. Don’t go there if you don’t feel comfortable, but I think it’s worth a try.”

“Ok. Nothing else to lose, right?”

“Right, thank you Jaehyun.”

Yuta leaves after that, saying he’ll come back next with Taeyong, who is still in the process of building an ecosystem in their backyard. As he watches him leave, Jaehyun wishes he could see the tattoo covered by the sleeves and he realizes he’s never told Yuta nor Taeyong his name so he must have asked Jeno or Renjun. He smiles slightly as he feels butterflies in his stomach, it doesn’t really mean anything but Jaehyun is happy just hearing Yuta say his name.

The rest of the day passes and Jaehyun contains the urge to visit Jaemin on his way back home and ask if someone came in asking for something for burns, if Yuta followed his advice, he can ask him about it next week. It would be a good conversation starter.

The next weekend doesn’t come fast enough for Jaehyun so on Saturday he wakes up before his alarm can go off and ends up arriving at the nursery before opening time. The days are getting colder and people start avoiding going out when they can still feel the morning freeze, which means the first customer arrives well past 9:00 am, and even then the day seems to be slower than usual so he uses the free time to catch up his assignments while listening to music. 

At one point he’s so invested in reading and the music is so loud that he doesn’t notice people entering the store. Only after a hand shakes in front of his face he looks up startled to see Yuta and Taeyong standing in front of the counter.

Jaehyun tugs his earphones away as he apologizes for being distracted, they both assure him it’s fine and Taeyong proceeds to ask him about soils and fertilizers. Yuta is quiet beside him, just looking around and back to their conversation. Jaehyun catches him staring a couple of times but he doesn’t speak up so he just smiles back and continues showing Taeyong around.

“Aren’t you cold?” Jaehyun decides to ask when a wind raft makes him shiver and he realizes Yuta is once again wearing a flimsy t-shirt that offers basically no protection from the current weather, even Taeyong is wearing a big coat and a turtleneck.

“Not really, my body is running very hot right now. If I put on something else I’ll feel like I’m suffocating, if anything I wish I could be wearing nothing right now.” Yuta smiles sheepishly at him and Jaehyun feels the blush coming back to him, his ears growing warmer with the idea.

“Oh, ok.” is all he says because although he’s curious now, he also knows for some it’s extremely rude to ask about their species. There aren’t many creatures that come to mind, maybe a werewolf or an elemental fairy but Yuta, despite his beauty doesn’t feel like a fairy nor he displays other typical werewolf characteristics.

Jaehyun decides to change the topic, fearing he’ll ask the wrong questions or receive another answer that’ll leave him feeling more embarrassed.  
“Did y- were you able to visit the shop I told you about?”

Yuta’s face lights up instantly, “Yeah! thanks for the recommendation. Jaemin was very nice and he helped me a lot”. 

“That’s good, does that mean you won’t be getting more calendulas or begonias?”

“Not for now, but I’ll keep coming to accompany Taeyong. His ecosystem is still far from over, you know?”

Jaehyun laughs and nods as he shoots a glance at the other, who looks in deep thought in front of the ferns selection, ”Maybe I should go back to help him before he gets too excited and decides to buy them all.”

Yuta extends his arm in Taeyong’s direction, and tells him with a smile “Go right ahead, I don’t think I can’t handle more of his indecisiveness today.” It’s fast but Jaehyun notices the tattoo has expanded higher into Yuta’s arm, which means he probably got it done during the week and yet there’s no protection on it and his skin looks fine, no redness or rashes to be seen. 

Maybe it’s a magical tattoo or maybe it’s the work of Jaemin, he doesn’t know but he’s glad he can see it healed because every new addition just makes it more beautiful and vibrant.

Later that day, Jaehyun decides to drop by the potions shop and ask Jaemin about it, maybe buy a new energy potion now that finals are coming closer while he’s there. He enters the store to see the same young boy from the other day sitting behind the counter, looking at whatever Jaemin is doing on his cauldron. 

“Hyung, welcome back! How have you been?”

“Hey Jaemin, I’m doing good. A bit tired but things are going well, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m excellent! Jisungie here has finally mastered some basic potions so we are moving to the next level. I also had an interesting client the other day, he might help me out with some special ingredients but I’m still in the process of convincing him.” The boy, Jisung apparently, shakes his head at Jaemin’s excited demeanor and looks really to fall asleep where he’s sitting.

“Hyung, I highly doubt a dragon will give you anything. They hate witches and witches hate them, remember?” Jaemin turns to look at Jisung with a scandalized expression, “I do not hate dragons! or anyone for that matter and he did not look like he hated me, so I’m keeping my hopes up for now.”

“A dragon?” Jaehyun finally speaks, a small part of him is connecting some dots but he mainly thinks he's being ridiculous. Dragons are rare, very rare as in only a few countries have dragons and Korea is not one of them, so there’s no way that he could be a dragon.

“Yeah! I mean, he’s not Korean obviously because we have no dragons anymore, but he’s living here right now and indefinitely and he just moved into the neighborhood too, isn’t that amazing?”

Not Korean, recently moved close by, a dragon who probably runs very hot and doesn’t need to wear sweaters in the winter, visited Jaemin’s shop a few days ago after he told Yuta about it. It’s obvious when he thinks about it but he still has to ask, just to make sure he’s not jumping to crazy conclusions.

“Does he have black hair with blonde highlights? Probably doesn’t wear any sweaters despite the weather and has some tattoos on his back and arm?”

Jaemin looks at him again, excitement is written all over his face, “That’s him! Do you know him?” Jaehyun nods and thinks maybe someone else fits all these descriptions but it’s unlikely, they are definitely talking about Yuta.

“Yeah, he’s Yu- he’s been coming to the nursery for some weeks, I told him he could come here if he wanted something stronger than plants for burns. But I- why does he need something for burns if he’s a dragon?”

Jaehyun barely avoids saying Yuta’s name, he’s sure Jaemin won’t be an issue but he also feels like he shouldn’t be giving his name around so easily considering who he is, what he is.

“For the tattoos of course! That’s how I knew, dragons get their tattoos when they are going through puberty but they are essentially magical fire so it burns them, obviously not like a serious burn, more like a really annoying ache until they heal completely.”

“Huh.” 

Jaehyun listens to Jaemin rant about all the things he could do with dragon’s scales or dragon's nails or dragon’s tears, but he stays quiet even when the younger one asks him to convince Yuta to donate some samples to his magic cause. 

There’s a mischievous glint in his eyes that makes Jaehyun uncomfortable because he doesn’t want Yuta to think he’s using him although Jaehyun didn’t even know about him being a dragon. Finally, he tells Jaemin, he’s not that close to being asking favors and just asks him for another bottle of energy potion.

As he rides the train back home he contemplates whether he should ask Yuta about it or feign ignorance, he thinks it’s a conversation that would eventually happen if they both continued talking as they were right now or if Jaehyun gathered some courage and tried to ask the other on a date. Yuta would say something eventually, right?  
Yuta does not say anything the next four times he visits the nursery with and without Taeyong, by now autumn has passed, finals are next week and Yuta’s tattoo has expanded to the rest of his arm and connected to the one on his back. Every time Jaehyun sees him there’s a new pattern and a new color, the tattoo is beautiful, and he wishes he could see it in its entirety, but he can’t simply ask Yuta to take off his shirt and show him the proof of his dragon puberty.

Although he says nothing about being a dragon, Yuta says plenty about Jaehyun’s hair and clothes. With time he grows more comfortable and confident, he starts to compliment his hair and his wide array of pastel sweaters, one day he even brings a couple of bobby pins with little flowers and convinces him of using them. 

Jaehyun loves it, being complimented for something that’s so negatively seen by others, he loves that Yuta notices small details about him and always encourages him to express himself freely, he loves that Yuta hears him talk about his thesis and actually pays attention even if he’s lost on half of the scientific names he mentions. Jaehyun really likes Yuta and he’s pretty sure Yuta likes him too, so the dragon issue becomes a non-issue, he has never been particularly focused on other species so this should be no different.

In the end, the truth comes out easier than he expected, he asks Yuta about the new addition to his tattoo, a bright yellow flower that peaks from the collar of his shirt. 

“It’s a calendula actually,” Yuta tugs on his collar to show the full flower that’s accompanied by others of yellow and orange shades, “it’s my birth flower.”

“It’s beautiful, every part of it is beautiful.”

Yuta smiles at him again, he leans on the counter with his forearms to get close to Jaehyun and says in a low voice, like it’s a secret, “It’s the last one, I won’t be getting new ones.”

“Why not?”

“Because the birth flower is the last mark to appear on a dragon’s body, now I’m officially an adult.”

Jaehyun smiles back, reaching out to tuck Yuta’s hair behind his ear and playfully tug at one of his piercings. 

“Calendulas suit you so well, you’re always so bright.”

“Are you not going to say anything about the dragon part or was I not clear enough?” 

Yuta grabs Jaehyun’s hand that is still tugging at his piercing and weakly squeezes it. He said it so casually but it is clear Yuta is not actually that comfortable revealing his nature, he’s waiting for Jaehyun’s reaction almost like he’s expecting a disaster.

“I knew already, I somehow figured it out from Jaemin. I didn’t want to mention it because it seemed like you didn’t want to mention it and I thought to just wait until you felt comfortable enough to talk about it. It’s cool, I like your tattoos but you already knew that.”

A big sigh comes from Yuta as he takes Jaehyun’s hands between his and rests his forehead on them, he seems relieved and when he looks up to smile at Jaehyun he also looks content.

“Don’t worry Yuta hyung.”

“Ok Jaehyun-ah, but I’m still sorry about keeping it a secret for so long.”

Jaehyun leans in to kiss him on the cheek, and then on the other one just for good measure. He doesn’t want Yuta to feel guilty about this and he doesn’t want him to think he’s somehow angry that he didn’t go around announcing what he was. He’s glad the secret it’s out in the open because now he feels a little less self conscious about asking what he’s been wondering since the first time he saw Yuta.

“Can I see the tattoo on your back?”

“Of course, baby. I can even show you right now if you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> Jaehyun is living my dream life. A postgraduate student working part-time in something they love? Can't relate I'm just working full time on something I hate.


End file.
